FanStory wrote to Xia Thornwood: Pure Flame finished third in the contest "Write A Sonnet"


FanStory wrote to Xia Thornwood: A Faithful Death finished second in the contest "75 Words Flash Fiction"


Xia Thornwood: So...
I have a project I've been thinking about for a while. It would be interesting to work with two or more other authors to write a story about a war. Each author would design their own country, culture, etc. The story would be a sweeping epic probably, as it would have to cover a large amount of time. Main characters could come from any country, even someone else's. Is this a kind of thing anyone else would be interested in pursuing and willing to commit the time and effort to?

Personally, I wouldn't be able to give much time to it until April at the earliest, and it would kind of be a long term thing.

Anyway, just wanted to see if there would be any interest in that.
    Allezw2: Curious indeed! Any particular war? Is it a regional affair among ethnic tribes, or countries? What is the range of technology, sticks and stones to electronics? Then, of course distant past, time-travel and paratime, historical, or present? Sounds intereting, somewhat like some of the better SciFi authors collaborating on a topic. -
    Vince Gonzalez: That sounds very interesting! I would definitely be interested in this, one of my favorite topics is fictional anthropology. -
    Xia Thornwood: Allezw2, I hadn't thought that far. I tend to write in fantasy, so I suppose that's kind of along the lines of what I was thinking. What would you prefer?

    Are you both on board then, or just considering? -


Xia Thornwood: I'm working on a project for my Socratic dialogue class, and I need some help on an assignment. I need to collect different people's views on justice. If you're willing to help, please just respond with your definition. (Or you can go to the forum. Under the Philosophy section, there's a thread called Gorgias. I'm also asking all these questions there.)
    Ms. Snyder: Can I ask what is your language origin? -
    Ms. Snyder: I'm very sorry I posted this under the wrong thing I apologize I was on my phone. Sorry. Cheers, I may go check out the forum though and talk a bit about Justice and the lack of it as I am trying to pursue it on behalf of some people that deserve it at the moment. LOL -


Xia Thornwood: I am taking a class in which we are studying Gorgias (dialogue by Plato). For this class, I need a variety of answers to a series of questions. If you're willing to help me, please respond! :)
The first one is: what is rhetoric?
Please just share your thoughts in answer. I hope to post an essay concerning rhetoric (and perhaps the other topics we consider) at the end of the semester.
    catch22: Hi Xia, I will send you a PM shortly. This is not a straightforward question. Have you had a course in formal logic? I will go from there. -
    Xia Thornwood: Formal logic, as in syllogisms, etc.? I only have the basics right now, but hopefully enough to understand whatever you want to throw at me. :) Thank you for your willingness to help. -
    Xia Thornwood: Please don't feel like you have to have studied philosophy in order to respond. Although I greatly appreciate the deeper understanding of those who have studied philosophy, I am looking for all kinds of perspectives. Studied or unstudied in philosophy, your perspectives will make our discussion deeper. -
    catch22: Why don't you pose your question in the Philosophy forum as well? -
    Xia Thornwood: I did, but I figured not as many people would see it there. I'll probably carry on the discussion there as well, if someone responds. Later, we'll be considering topics like flattery, justice, etc. -
    WryWriter: Precisionism in exaggerated prose choice of elements (structure, style, content, and cadence) in literature and public speaking used as persuasion.--WryWriter -


Xia Thornwood: I've been struggling for a while to figure out how to use the stars, and I've come up with how to use them. In case you don't understand how I've rated you, I'll do my best to explain here.
1 star means I think that you probably shouldn't have posted this - it needs major revision.
2 stars means that this work has some good
thoughts, and is starting to be something, but still
needs a lot of hard work.
3 stars means that I think this work is average. It has somewhere it could go, but it hasn't fully reached its potential.
4 stars means the work is good. It needs no revision, but there's that something missing which makes an excellent work.
5 stars means this work is excellent. No revision needed, well done, an entertaining read, and well rounded out.
6 stars means I've found a work of genius, or one that touched me deeply.
7 stars means I'm probably doing something wrong, and I may have broken FanStory. JK.

I know that FanStory has its own system for the stars, and that's what this is based off of, but I've seen 5 stars so often used as an "average" rating, that I want to explain why my ratings will often be lower. Thank you for reading, and sorry if I confused you with a four star review, and no explanation that you did something wrong.
    giraffmang: I think you're going to receive quite a few complaints introducing your own system... -
    Scarbrems: You'll still need to explain what the 'something missing' is. As writers, we need to know what isn't working. If it lacks a little something for you, WHY does it? WHAT do you feel is missing? -
    Xia Thornwood: Sorry, I didn't mean it to come across as a new system of my own. I meant to explain how I've interpreted the FanStory system. The thing is, I often don't see stars used properly, so I wanted to explain why my ratings may often be lower than usual.
    And, yes, Sarkems, I do try to communicate what is missing when I give four stars, but it varies with the story. -


Xia Thornwood: To all of you whom I've reviewed recently, I would like to apologize. Recently I've gotten sloppy on my reviews, probably because I'm paying way too much attention to the member money. I'm sorry. If I have given you a review recently that was not well thought out, you're welcome to respond to this or contact me so I can take another look at what you've written, and actually be constructive about it.
This probably means less reviews from me, but hopefully more constructive ones.
Thank you for letting me read and critique your work. I apologize for taking this honor lightly.
    rama devi: Hi Xia - I have not received a review from you but I want to tell you how pleased I am to see this sincere and humble note and your positive intent to take reviewing more seriously. That gives value in both directions, as doing in depth reviews hones our own skills in the craft just like a musician builds muscles playing scales... Warm welcome to FS. :) -


Xia Thornwood: I love books. I love giving new, untried series a try. Preferably ones that have at least 400 pages - they need to last more than one day. Unfortunately, so often I pick one up, and it has elements in it that I do not consider appropriate. So I have to stop in the middle of a story. That is one of the hardest things I've ever done, to set a riveting plot aside, so that I do not immerse myself in content that I don't want in my brain. It happened again just recently. Every time that happens, I think "This is why I write - so that people who like clean books, (and, as strange as it sounds, incantation-less fantasy), can have them, while still enjoying riveting plots." This is my goal: I want to be an authoress who writes deep, intertwined, page-turning plots, without any inappropriate content.
    Mustang Patty: There are several Christian series. If you don't have a Christian bookstore near you, you can get them from Amazon.

    Your writing can be marketed to the Christian publishers. In Oregon, we have a Christian Writer's Group, where I was able to meet face to face with the editor who made the deal on one of my novels. -
    fm wright: Just read your profile thoughts. Liked everything you said. I appreciate you being a fan of mine because I want to be a fan of yours. -


Xia Thornwood: For those of you who have been reviewing my work, thanks very much. I just wanted to make a request. I've heard that it's common practice around here to award five stars whether the writer earned it or not. Please do not do this with my writing. If I merit two stars, please give me two stars. I do not want an average rating which I do not deserve. Thank you!
    mrsmajor: I agree with you...we can only get better by learning if we are making mistakes... -
    nor84: Some people are telling new members to give everyone 5 stars for anything they post. NO! Most of us want the stars we deserve, and the site does have guidelines. FOUR stars means a piece is good, and some people are being muted because they say a member's work is good. Five stars means the work is excellent and enjoyable, with few if any errors. Six stars? That means the work is simply outstanding, catches your attention, and is likely publishable as posted.

    A reviewer begins at ZERO because the piece hasn't been read yet. Then we ADD stars. No piece automatically deserves 5 stars. -